5

Interview with Commander Shepard

"I've seen a lot of stuff in my career, but somehow that mission to Eden Prime will always stay with me."

"How so?"

"Apart from the fact that it jump-started the single largest war the galaxy has ever seen?"

"Of course."

"It was my first experience dealing with a situation like that: no intel, hostiles hiding around every corner, dead civilians and marines everywhere. It was unsettling."

"Do you think things might have gone differently if you had better understanding of what was going on?"

"Honestly? I think even if we knew exactly what was going on, we still wouldn't have had a chance."


Eden Prime

Shepard was taking point as they slowly trekked through the trees. They hadn't been pinned down by any more of the drones, but had heard them humming through the trees in the distance. They had to stop several times, waiting for the droning buzz to fade into silence before feeling safe enough to continue. When they were about twenty minutes away from the secondary excavation site, where they would meet up with Nihlus, they came across another group of Gas Bags. They were about to simply skirt around them like they had in the past, but before they could three drones floated out from the forest, seemingly out of nowhere. Shepard bit back a curse and motioned for his squad to take cover before the machines saw them.

Fortunately, the drones hadn't been focused on them. They floated to the center of the path, their cannons tracking the slow-moving Gas Bags that floated sluggishly along beneath them. The mechs chattered among themselves in a series of deep beeps, buzzes, and clicks for a few moments. Then, as one, they opened fire on the creatures beneath them. The Gas Bags exploded in showers of slime and puffs of green smoke, their remains plopping to the ground and attempting to slither away through the grass. The drones didn't give them the chance, continuing to fire until energy bolts riddled the creatures, staining the surrounding trees and grass with pale green-gray blood.

The mechs eventually tapered off their fire, buzzed and beeped to each other a few more times, then slowly floated off into the trees again, out of sight.

Shepard didn't let his squad move again until a good five minutes later, when his motion tracker showed no contacts for several meters. Then they slowly emerged from cover and surveyed the damage.

Kaidan grimaced, holding one hand over his mouth and nose to drown out the smell. "God... that was ruthless. Those Gas Bags weren't doing anything hostile. They just... gunned them down."

"I can see why the colonists didn't stand a chance," Jenkins said, shaking his head as he limped past the scene of carnage. "These things aren't here to occupy the colony. They're here to exterminate it."

"Yeah," Shepard said, prodding one of the Gas Bags' corpses with the toe of his boot. "Let's move on before they decide to loop back."

The sun was almost hidden behind the trees and Shepard was having to rely more and more on his helmet's HUD night vision systems to illuminate the surrounding area. The encroaching darkness, coupled with the telltale hum of patrolling drones in the nearby forest, made everyone uneasy. Shepard found himself almost wishing Nihlus was there to back them up.

Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long. After a few more tense minutes of walking, they emerged into a clearing with digging machines and stacks of supply crates, all clustered around an indentation in the ground that looked like it had been recently dug up.

"Secondary excavation site located," Shepard whispered to his group. It was almost pitch black now, the only illumination coming from their helmet's night vision settings. The greenish tint to their surroundings made the entire area look ghostly and foreboding.

"Think Nihlus made it?" Kaidan whispered. "He said he'd meet us here."

Shepard was about to answer when Nihlus answered for him. He suddenly stood up from behind a crate, powering down his shotgun into standby mode and hooking it to the clamp on his armor. He stepped toward them, nodding in satisfaction. "Shepard. Glad you made it."

Shepard nodded back. "We were slowed down by a few drone patrols."

"As was I," Nihlus growled. "It's too dangerous to keep moving. We'll set up camp here, stay for the night."

"Should I gather wood for a fire?" Jenkins asked, looking eager to please the turian.

But Nihlus shook his crested head. "Too dangerous with those drones around. We'll stay dark, maintain a watch in shifts, then start moving again at first light."

Jenkins nodded, looking crestfallen. Nihlus seemed to notice this and said, "If you wish to help, take these motion sensors and create a perimeter. Lieutenant Alenko, you can accompany him. Shepard, if you can spare a moment..."

Kaidan looked to Shepard for confirmation about Nihlus' orders. Shepard nodded and the two marines stepped forward to take the motion sensors from the turian's three-fingered hand. Alenko drew his pistol and said, "All right Jenkins, let's get this done before any more of those drones get the jump on us."

As they disappeared into the darkness to set up a perimeter, Shepard took a step toward the Spectre and said, "What did you want to talk about, sir?"

"Did you manage to extract any information from the colonists before they were killed?"

"No," Shepard sighed. "The only one that spoke was too panicked to think straight. He just kept shouting, they're coming, they're coming."

"Hmm..." Nihlus narrowed his eyes, watching Kaidan and Jenkins head away toward the treeline. "And you're certain they revealed nothing about the hostiles we have been facing?"

"No," Shepard said. "Why?

Nihlus waited until the others were out of earshot before saying, "The assault here is more extensive than I expected. This is not an isolated attack but a full-scale invasion. And there is no doubt in my mind that the attackers are here for the beacon."

Shepard remained silent. He had been thinking the exact same thing. It was obvious someone else was interested in the beacon, but who? And how had they heard in the first place? The beacon's presence here had been top secret, the information available to only the highest of authorities.

"What's more," Nihlus continued, "I have reason to believe there are more hostiles here than drones patrolling the forest."

"How do you know?" Shepard said.

"Intuition," the turian growled, turning away. He took a few steps away from Shepard, toward what looked like a makeshift camp he had set up. "Mixed with careful observation. I have encountered several hostile contacts on my motion tracker, accompanied by the sounds of something large moving through the forest underbrush.

"Could it have been local wildlife?" Shepard quickly filled Nihlus in about both the volatile Gas Bags and the more docile deer-like creatures they had encountered before. But the turian quickly shook his spined head.

"High-spectrum scans showed two-man squads of a being roughly humanoid in shape," he growled. "Two arms, two legs, and a long, flexible neck. Carrying weapons"

Shepard pondered this, then shook his head. "Doesn't sound like any hostile species I know."

Nihlus remained silent, his back turned. Shepard stared at him for a few moments, then said, "Do you know something?"

Nihlus' mandibles flexed slowly, his segmented fingers curling and uncurling. Eventually he sighed and said, "Possibly."

"What does that mean?"

"It means," Nihlus growled, "that I have a theory as to which species is responsible for the attack."

"Do you mind sharing?" Shepard said with a frown.

"Yes. I do."

"Ah. Okay."

"Do not mistake my intentions," Nihlus said, turning back to him. "I do not wish to withhold information. But a Spectre is trained to put reason over emotion, to operate on fact over theory."

"So you don't want to stake a claim on anything until you're certain?"

"Correct."

Shepard sighed. "But there's definitely more hostiles than those drones?"

"Correct."

"Great," Shepard said. "Then what should we do now?"

Nihlus turned and looked out at the darkness, narrowing his bright green eyes. His gaze stared out into the darkness, to the distant glow of fire on the horizon. "Now we wait until dawn. If we are motivated, we should reach the primary excavation site soon after."

Shepard looked over to the excavation site Nihlus had converted into their camp. "So what exactly were people looking for here?"

"Eden Prime has been a moderate source of Prothean artifacts in the past," Nihlus said. "None operational, but still valuable. There are remnants of a Prothean city on the other side of the planet. It is unsurprising that archaeological efforts would spread across the colony."

Shepard sighed and eased himself down on a supply crate behind him. His body was sore from a day of hiking, fighting, and being shot. It felt good to get off his feet, even for only a short time. He rested his palms on his armored knees and stared out at the blaze of fire in the distance.

"Sir..." he began slowly. He saw Nihlus turn toward him. His mandibles twitched twice, quickly, the turian equivalent of a raised eyebrow. Shepard took a deep breath and said, "I think maybe you were right."

"How so, Commander?" Nihlus said, sounding surprised.

"Maybe..." it almost sounded like treason to Shepard's ears, but he couldn't deny his thoughts any longer. "Maybe you were right. Maybe humanity isn't ready for this level of expansion."

Nihlus stared at him, expression as stony as ever. Shepard shook his head and continued, "I wanted to believe we could maintain our hold on these planets, but... well, the Alliance doesn't know the first thing about Prothean excavations, or colonization on alien planets. We're not ready."

"The ability to admit defeat can be an admirable strength," Nihlus said slowly, "under the right circumstances."

Shepard looked up. "What?"

Nihlus also took a seat on a nearby storage crate. "Shepard, let me tell you something I believe. Eden Prime's defenses were weak, yes. No amount of disbelief or propaganda will change that. But it is not humanity's failure."

"It's not?"

He shook his crested head, his mandibles flexing once. "It is the fault of the united galaxy. Humans included."

"I don't follow."

"Eden Prime was home to millions," Nihlus said. "That many lives should not be overlooked by anyone. Not even the Council. So the fault was both that of humanity for not seeking help from other races, but also that of the other races as well, for not offering."

Shepard looked at Nihlus with a curious frown, beginning to see the turian in a new light. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"I do," the Spectre said. He folded his arms across his wide, armored chest. "Beings are not chosen to be Spectres without cause. I believe that unity is in the galaxy's best interests. For all Eden Prime's profit, imagine what this colony could have accomplished with salarian or asari support? How differently this invasion may have turned out with military backing from the turians or krogan?"

"If I may, sir," Shepard said slowly, "you're the first turian I've met who thinks this way. What makes you different?"

For the first time since Shepard had met him, Nihlus laughed. It was a short, sharp chuckle, almost like a raspy bark. In a moment it was over almost as quickly as it had begun, and Nihlus looked as furious as ever. He waited a long time, gathering his thoughts, before he murmured, "You and I are not so different, Commander."

"Oh?"

"Oh yes. I know your record. You grew up in a sprawling metropolis on Earth, abandoned at birth. You were inducted into a gang at a young age, a life you were eager to leave by joining the military."

Shepard shifted uncomfortably as Nihlus continued, "I was born outside the influence of the turian Hierarchy, the son of a mercenary who refused to enlist me in the military."

Shepard was surprised at that; military life was everything to the turians. He'd never heard of one of his kind who had resisted the life of a soldier. "Why?"

"My father didn't have time to explain his reasoning to me," Nihlus said. "He died when I was sixteen, killed in action on a deployment. My mother then forced me into the military, long after the average turian began service.

"I was instantly singled out as an outsider; the bastard son of an anarchist revolutionary who denied the turian way. Many other initiates had years of training beyond mine and resented my skill in battle. I was frequently reprimanded for brawling and was almost killed in said brawls on multiple occasions."

Shepard said nothing, absorbing this information in silence. He didn't think Nihlus was capable of speaking this long, let alone revealing such personal information. The turian clicked his mandibles and continued, "These experiences opened my eyes to the division within my own species. I was disgusted, but determined to make a difference about it."

"So what happened?"

"I met a turian soldier named Saren Arterius," Nihlus said. "My mentor. He not only opened my eyes to the division between the races of the galaxy, but taught me how to help mend such divisions. And, when the time came he put my name forward for the Spectres, much like I did with yours."

"This Saren was a Spectre?"

Nihlus nodded. "One of the best. He knew about the problems of this galaxy, the violence and hatred, and he knew better than anyone how to remedy such problems. He passed those skills on to me, training me to be a Spectre who could maintain galactic peace rather than feed the hatred of the masses."

He narrowed his fiery green eyes. "Galactic peace cannot be achieved when the people of the galaxy are at each others' throats. A Spectre's duty is to maintain galactic stability and foster peace at any cost. That cost can be the respect of his peers, the favor of his loved ones, even his own life."

He fixed Shepard with a glare, then the turian stood and slowly moved past Shepard, heading for his supply pack.. "This is what is going to be expected of you, Commander. For your sake, I hope you are ready."


Eden Prime (Dawn)

Nihlus left them shortly before dawn, heading off to scout the area ahead much like before. Shepard, Kaidan, and Jenkins waited for about fifteen minutes, catching a quick breakfast of ration packs before setting out again.

"We aren't far from the primary excavation site and the beacon," Shepard said, loading supplies into the supply packs on his belt. "We're a few hours out. Provided we don't get into trouble, we should reach the beacon soon."

Kaidan didn't move, sitting on a supply crate and staring at the dark, forbidding treeline. "Think we'll come across more colonists?"

Shepard paused, not liking the tension in the marine's voice. "No way of knowing, Lieutenant. If we're lucky, Gunnery Chief Williams may be still around here. After what we've seen those drones do, though, I'm not optimistic."

Alenko shook his head, but said nothing more.

Jenkins came jogging up just as Shepard drew his Avenger rifle and signaled for Kaidan to move out. He was out of breath, looking like he'd sprinted all the way from wherever he had been scouting. He saluted quickly, then bent over, resting his hands on his knees and panting.

"Jenkins," Shepard said, looking down at him. "What's wrong?"

"I was... I was scouting ahead... and..." he shook his head, unable to continue. Shepard waited patiently while Jenkins caught his breath. Finally the young marine gasped, "I was scouting ahead and I heard gunshots in the distance. Sounds like a firefight."

Shepard frowned. "Do you think it's over?"

Jenkins shook his head. "It was still going on when I started running back here. It's only about a fifteen minute hike out."

"Which direction?"

Jenkins silently pointed to the northwest. Shepard nodded and motioned for them to move out. "Let's go, then. Double time."

Alenko instantly sprinted in the direction the young marine had pointed, Shepard right on his heels. Jenkins watched them go, then sighed and said, "Shit. More running."

Then, holding his side, he jogged after them.

Like Jenkins had said, it was about fifteen minutes before they heard the sounds of gunfire through the trees. Sprinkled among the deep rattle of rifle fire and the higher-pitched pop of energy weapon fire were the rumbling boom of grenade explosions and the shout of soldiers in battle.

"Step it up!" Shepard shouted. "We have to get to those people!"

They doubled their pace, racing around trees and over rocks, or swerving to avoid the occasional Gas Bag. After a few more minutes of running, they broke into a clearing in the forest. There were large outcroppings of rock on either side of the clearing and marines were crouched behind both outcroppings. Trapped in the center of the clearing were more than fifteen of the mechanical drones, clustered into a rough circular shape, facing outward and unleashing a steady stream of fire at the marines, giving the soldiers no time to counterattack.

"Open fire!" Shepard ordered, raising his rifle and firing at the knot of drones in the center of the clearing. Alenko sprinted into the clearing, getting close enough to throw down a biotic warp field and Jenkins ducked behind a tree, firing at the drones as well.

"Friendlies!" one of the marines shouted. A cheer went up among them, at least until the drones opened fire again.

Alenko rose from cover and unleashed two bolts of biotic energy from his palms. When they struck the floating machines, the glowing balls of blue-white energy exploded in a flash of light and a warped gurgling sound, sending three drones flying.

"Nice one, Lieutenant!" Jenkins called. He fired a quick, three-shot burst from his assault rifle, felling another of the machines. He ducked back behind cover as blue-white energy bolts began popping against his shields.

"Stay focused!" Shepard snarled, firing at the closest drone. His bullets bounced off its shields and it swiveled to fire at him, energy bolts peppering the tree he was using as cover.

"Marines!" he shouted to the soldiers still pinned down in the clearing. "Stay behind cover! My team will handle this!"

"Sir, no sir!" one of the marines shouted back. "These drones are tough sons of bitches! You're going to need all the firepower you can-"

That was as far as he made it before three of the drones showered him with coordinated fire. His shields shorted out in an instant, his armored chest piece all but shattering under the barrage. He was knocked back off his feet, dead before he hit the ground.

"Manfield!" one of the other marines shouted, running for the fallen soldier. He was similarly cut down, energy bolts ruthlessly slicing through his defenses. With two marines down, the three drones focused their fire on one of the remaining marines. Even a cover of rock couldn't hold up under such heavy fire. The stone itself began to crumble away, until a bolt managed to catch the soldier in the chest, just under his armpit. He staggered back and the drones pressed their advantage, swooping forward and unleashing a ruthless stream of fire at the marine. Shepard could hear the man's screams from his position on the other side of the clearing, before they were suddenly cut short.

Alenko cursed and charged his biotics again, yanking two drones into the ground, where they exploded in a shower of fire and shrapnel. There were now only three marines remaining and about twice as many drones. Shepard felled another with quick bursts of fire from his rifle, but it still wasn't enough. The incoming fire was too thick to stay in the open for long and the circular formation of the drones made it difficult to find a weak point in their defenses.

"More coming!" one of the marines shouted. Shepard quickly peeked around the tree to see even more of the drones emerging from the woods on the other side of the clearing.

"Damn it," he muttered. This was getting worse by the minute. He found himself almost wishing Nihlus was here to provide fire support.

"Okay guys," he called to his squad, "overlapping fields of fire. You know the drill!"

"Aye sir!" Kaidan called. He drew his pistol, abandoning his biotics for the moment, and opened fire at the new incoming drones, hitting them each with enough fire to stagger them, but not destroy them. Shepard leaned out from behind cover and sprayed the incoming reinforcements with fire, further hampering their progress. They took out a few, the machines erupting into bright flares of light and flame as they fell, but at such long range most shots missed or bounced harmlessly off their shields.

Shepard scowled and ducked back behind cover as a storm of incoming fire ripped past him. He pressed his back against the tree, listening to energy bolts whiz past his position.

How the hell are we going to get out of this?


Jenkins was opening fire at the drone reinforcements as quickly and accurately as he could, but it seemed like for every drone he managed to shoot out of the air, two more replaced it. They just kept floating out of the woods, coming in waves. His assault rifle was warm to the touch, the barrel glowing red-hot as it spat mass-accelerated bullets at the enemy. He was having to pause almost every twenty seconds and vent heat from his weapon to avoid frying the internal systems. In those precious seconds, even more drones seemed to swarm into the area.

"Shepard!" he shouted. "What are we going to do?"

The commander was in a similar situation, firing as quickly as his rifle would allow. Even from his position further up, Jenkins could see sweat pouring down the man's face. He winced as energy bolt sliced past his helmet and hit the tree next to him, sending a spray of wood chips into his face.

"Just keep firing!" Shepard shouted over the cacophony of fire. "They have to stop sometime!"

Luckily for the marines in the clearing, it seemed as if Shepard was taking the brunt of the drone's fire. The tree behind which Shepard was hiding looked like it had been hit with a direct shot from the Normandy's Mako cannon and with every energy bolt that it it, the tree grew closer and closer to collapsing.

Jenkins cursed and turned his attention back to the incoming drones, mashing his rifle's trigger and continuing to lay down fire until the weapon overheated again, jetting smoke out of the vents in the sides and beeping erratically.

He was about to ask if Lieutenant Alenko should lay down a barrier for the marines in the clearing to escape when he heard a warbling buzz from behind him. He froze, ceasing fire for only a moment. Even over the sounds of battle, he heard it again; a strange throaty buzz, followed by a series of clicks and garbled hums.

His HUD's motion tracker registered a contact behind him. Thinking it might be another Gas Bag, he spun, ready to shoo the creature away so he could focus on the battle in the clearing.

Nothing was there.

He frowned behind his helmet and checked his motion tracker again: same reading. According to the device, there was a hostile contact right in front of him. As he watched, the little red triangle retreated, further into the forest. The woods in front of him remained visually empty of any kind of contact, native or hostile.

Jenkins narrowed his eyes and took a step into the forest, away from the battle. He knew he should have been helping Shepard, but something told him this strange hostile contact was trouble. It continued to retreat on his motion tracker, as if beckoning him to follow it.

Cautiously, taking slow, careful steps, he moved away from the battlefield and into the forest. He swept his rifle over every possible ambush point, keeping his gaze almost constantly fixed on his motion tracker. The red triangle continued to retreat at a slow but steady pace, just slow enough that Jenkins could keep up.

"What are you?" he whispered to himself. His instincts screamed it was a trap, but he couldn't make that assumption without proof. The forest around him remained still and quiet save for the sounds of fire from behind him. He was almost ten meters from the clearing now, listening to the staccato pounding of rifle fire as it echoed through the trees. Leaves fluttered peacefully down from the canopy, as if nature itself was attempting to contradict the violence of the battle behind him.

Then, all of a sudden, he heard that warbling, clicking sound again. It was coming from just up ahead, from a small cluster of trees. Jenkins tightened his grip on his rifle and quickened his pace. The hostile contact on his HUD had stopped just within the small copse, waiting for him.

Pushing through the branches, he found a tiny clearing within the circle of trees. A shaft of brilliant sunlight shone down from the orange, smoke-stained sky and there was a thick carpet of crunchy leaves under his boots. But Jenkins paid no mind to any of this. His eyes widened as he saw what was standing in the small clearing, right where the hostile contact said it would be.

It was humanoid, with two-jointed legs like a bipedal dog. It had a thick, black-armored chest and its bare arms were thick and contoured, like exposed muscle colored black. It had glowing tubes protruding from its shoulders, where they looped down under the arm and into the chest, as well as other tubes leading from the back of the neck to a kind of antenna relay on its back.

It turned slowly toward Jenkins, releasing more garbled buzzing sounds as it did. When it faced him complete, Jenkins saw it had a long, curved neck. That led down to a "head" made up of twitching, flexing metal panels that formed a rough upside-down U shape. There was a single glowing blue eye in the middle of its head, swiveling and watching him intently.

It was obviously a machine, Jenkins could see that clearly. But as much as it looked like a machine, Jenkins couldn't believe it was. It moved more fluidly and in a more lifelike manner than any mech he'd ever seen before, and its muscled arms and legs gave it an almost bio-mechanical look.

He slowly lowered his rifle and cocked his head. "What... what are you?"

The creature cocked its own head, mimicking his motion as it let out a synthetic chirp. Jenkins straightened his head, and it mirrored his motion again. He frowned, watching its head-panels flex slowly as it let out a deep, wavering cooing sound, almost sounding like some strange mechanical bird.

"Are you hostile?" Jenkins said. "My HUD says you're hostile."

It cocked its head again and flapped its head-panels. Jenkins reached up to touch his comm and relay what he'd found to Shepard. The creature mirrored his motion again, raising a three-fingered hand and twitching its fingers curiously.

He was just about to trigger his comm when it flared all its head-panels at once and let out a high-pitched screech. Jenkins jumped in surprise and took a step back, raising his rifle again. "What?"

It beeped at him, then looked down and flattened the panels on its head, as if apologizing. Jenkins frowned and lowered his rifle again. "What, you don't like me messing with my helmet?"

It cocked its head the other way and swiveled its central eye to watch him carefully. Jenkins could distinctly hear the buzz of servomotors inside its housing as it moved. Definitely a machine, then.

"What are you doing here?" Jenkins whispered, taking a step closer. "You... you aren't local. Unless you're some kind of translator mech."

It flashed its central eye, but was silent. It just stared at him now, unmoving save for an occasional flare of its head-panels. Jenkins took one more step toward the machine, reaching out one hand to touch its muscled arm.

The moment his gloved hand brushed the surface, which seemed to be made of some kind of synthetic material, the machine let out another loud screech, causing Jenkins to jump back again. But this time, he hit something tall behind him. He spun to find another of the machines standing behind him, staring at him with that same glowing blue gaze.

Looking around the clearing, he saw more and more of the mechs emerging from the woods around him. Most were simply staring at him, cocking their heads curiously as if copying the one machine earlier. Jenkins saw that some of them were carrying odd, complex devices that looked like little more than a collection of purple-colored pipes and tubes. When they trained the devices on him, Jenkins had no idea in his mind that they were weapons.

"Oh shit..." he murmured, spinning back to the first mech.

It cocked its head once more, then its glowing eye flared deep red. It let out a deep mechanical snarl, then leaped toward him.


Alenko let out a short, "Ha!" when another drone fell, flaming, to the ground. They had narrowed the opposition down to just under ten drones. The marines were staying down, covering their heads against the onslaught of fire. To Shepard's satisfaction, all the remaining marines were still with them. One of them had taken a stray shot to the arm, but they were otherwise fine.

"Shepard!" Kaiden shouted as energy bolts ricocheted off the rocks near his head. "Got a plan for the rest of these guys? My biotic amp is almost fried!"

"Just keep up the pressure!" Shepard shouted back. "Put up a barrier if you can manage. We're almost through this!"

He ducked back behind what was left of his tree to allow his Avenger rifle to vent heat. "Jenkins! I need suppressive fire!"

When no rifle fire met his command, he looked to his left and shouted, "Private Jenkins! Where the hell are you?"

The tree Jenkins had been using as cover wasn't occupied. Shepard cursed. "Alenko! You have eyes on Jenkins?"

"Negative, Commander!"

"Jenkins!" Shepard shouted over his comm. "Come in! Answer your damn comm!"

When another storm of fire forced him to duck and cover his head, he abandoned the effort and said, "Jenkins is MIA."

"What the hell do you mean, MIA?" Alenko shouted back.

"What do you think? Just focus on getting those marines out of there, then we'll find him."

"Aye sir," Kaiden snarled. "Orders?"

"Fall back," Shepard said. "Lure the drones toward us. If we can get these mechs far enough into the clearing, we can pen them in."

Kaidan nodded, then rolled out from behind cover as a drone rushed his position, firing blindly at the floating machine. Once the drone fell back, giving him time enough to scramble to his feet, he sprinted back toward Shepard's position. The drone stitched the ground at his heels with energy fire and managed to land a few lucky shots to his back, but his shields absorbed most of the damage. Shepard saw with satisfaction that the other drones followed, eager to cut down their target.

Wait for it... wait for it...

Alenko hit the treeline, ducking behind a large tree trunk just as the drones screeched and buzzed, opening fire at him with a coordinated storm of energy bolts that would have cut him in half. He looked to Shepard for orders, breathing hard as the drones approached his position.

Just a little bit further...Shepard thought, narrowing his eyes in concentration.

"Marines!" he finally shouted. "Give us some cover fire!"

The two groups of soldiers obeyed, eager to get back in the action. They sprang up from behind their respective rocks and caught the remaining drones in a deadly crossfire. The floating purple-black machines had nowhere to go, caught between the soldier's deadly fire on either side of the clearing and Shepard and Kaidan's offensive from the treeline. They reversed in mid-air, furiously trying to reach the safety of the trees, but it was too late. Drones exploded into flames, spinning wildly as their processes shut down, slamming into others nearby and crashing to the ground. In moments, the firefight was over and the clearing was silent save for the quiet crackle of flames in the grass.

Shepard let out a long breath and slowly relaxed, emerging from behind the ravaged tree. Alenko holstered his pistol and nodded to Shepard. Shepard nodded back, saying, "Good job, Lieutenant."

Out in the clearing, the marines were slowly emerging from cover as well, nursing minor puncture wounds in their armor or burns from the energy bolts. Some of the marines were kneeling by their casualties, closing their eyes and saying a quiet goodbye. One of the soldiers, a burly man in his late thirties, approached Shepard and saluted crisply. He was breathing hard and bleeding profusely from a cut over one eye, where his helmet visor had shattered and sent jagged shards of glass into his forehead.

"Commander," he said with a nod. "Operations Chief Bellows. Damn glad you got here in time."

Shepard nodded and returned the salute. "Sitrep, Chief. What's going on here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," the marine said. "My unit was ordered to patrol the science camp, keep it safe from bandits and raiders. We weren't expecting an entire goddamn invasion."

"Casualties?" Kaidan asked.

The man looked back over his shoulder at the marines lying motionless in the grass. He frowned and said, "A few. Too many for my taste."

"What about the beacon?" Kaidan asked. "Can you tell us its status?"

Bellows shook his head. "We didn't have security access for that area of the dig. You'll want Sergeant Donkey and the Two-Twelve Dogs for that. If you can't find him, look for Gunnery Chief Williams."

"Williams," Shepard said, remembering the name from the emergency transmission to the Normandy. "Where can we find this Dog Squad?"

Bellows pointed up the hill to the northeast. "That way. They were ordered to secure the beacon at its dig site. After the attack, I can't tell you if they're still around."

Shepard nodded. "They're still our best bet."

He turned away and triggered his comm. "Nihlus. Did you catch that?"

"I did," Nihlus said. "I'll keep an eye out for this Dog Squad while I'm scouting the area. Considering all the bodies I've come across, I'm not hopeful."

"Copy that. We'll try to rendezvous at your position. ETA about half an hour."

"Good."

Shepard sighed off and turned back to Bellows. "I think we can safely assume that security clearance is no longer needed for the dig site. Can you take us there?"

"Aye, sir. Just give my men a minute to..."

He trailed off as a low rumble began to reverberate through the clearing. Shepard looked up, frowning and consulting his motion tracker. There was something approaching their position from the forest to the northwest. Something big.

"Commander?" Kaidan asked, drawing his pistol. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Shepard said. He signaled for Bellows to return to his men. "Nothing good."

Now they could hear the snap of tree branches and the wavering hum of mechanized repulsors coming from the forest. Shepard and Kaidan took cover behind a rocky outcropping, staring toward the source of the souds.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Kaidan murmured.

Moments later, two drones burst through the trees, spraying fire at Shepard and Kaidan. They ducked down while the Marines opened fire, but these new drones weren't about to fall for the trick that had destroyed the other group. They fired their thrusters, swiftly avoiding the fire while continuing to pin Shepard and Kaidan.

Moments later, another drone floated sluggishly through the trees. This one was different, though, almost three times the size of the other drones, with sharp angles and corners and some kind of large cannon mounted beneath it. Its armored hull was a pale blue color and it had swooping crevices all along its armored skin. Like all the other drones, a large receptor antenna protruded from its housing.

The new drone let out a deep buzz, halting in mid-air. Shepard heard Operations Chief Bellows order his marines to open fire at the new contact. Moments later a hail of bullets hit the drone from both sides, but if there was any effect, Shepard couldn't see it. It let out a dark series of beeps and clicks, but didn't move.

"What the hell is that thing?" Kaidan shouted over the sounds of rifle fire. "Some kind of assault unit?"

"No idea!" Shepard shouted back. "Distract those drones for me, I'm going to hit it with a frag!"

He stood from his position while Kaidan distracted the mechanized drones. "Marines! Heads down! I'm tossing out a frag!"

He pulled a round, disc-shaped grenade from his belt, primed it with the press of a button, then threw it at the large drone as if skipping a stone on a pond. It whirled through the air, flying straight for the drone. Before it could impact, though, one of the smaller mechs purposefully swooped into the grenade's path, instantly disappearing in a cloud of smoke and fire.

"Damn it!" Shepard shouted as incoming fire forced him back into hiding. "No good!"

The attempt seemed to have gotten the bigger drone's attention, though. It began to shake and hum and its central photoreceptor "eye" began to glow brighter. Kaidan saw this and cursed. "I think you pissed it off, Commander!"

The mech suddenly shifted, aiming at Bellows and his marines to Shepard's left. The central cannon on its belly began rotating quickly, releasing a loud hum as it did.

"Bellows," Shepard called. "I think you should get out of there..."

Moments later, the big drone shot out four glowing blue-white orbs from its cannon. The orbs flew through the air, landing in the grass or sticking tight to the rocks Bellows and his squad was using for cover. One of the orbs hit the Operations Chief in the shoulder pad, sending him staggering.

The drone then rotated in mid-air and fired four more orbs at the marines on the other side of the clearing. The soldiers cursed and took cover, not leaving anything up to chance.

All eyes were drawn to Bellows now as he wrenched the sticky orb off his shoulder, trying in vain to shake it from his gloved hand. It was stuck tight, though, clinging tenaciously to his armor. He looked up and Shepard saw him mouth, what the hell?

Then Bellows and his marines disappeared in a flash of white light. The roar of an explosion quickly followed, a geyser of dirt and fire cascading up into the air as the blue-white orbs detonated violently. Shepard covered his head as chunks of earth began to rain down on his position.

"Bellows!" Shepard shouted. He tried to make a break for their position, but was forced back into cover by the single remaining recon drone still floating around. He scrambled back as energy bolts dug tiny craters out of the ground.

Kaidan, meanwhile, spun to the other marines and shouted, "Fall back! Get away from the rocks!"

Too late. The orbs on their side of the clearing detonated as well, engulfing the marines in a cloud of blue-white fire. Shepard could see their bodies fly across the clearing, landing sprawled out in the grass almost four meters away. They did not rise again.

"Shit!" Kaidan cried as the remaining recon drone began to fire at them again. Shepard could see the bigger drone's cannon begin to spin again.

"What are we going to do now?" Alenko demanded.

Shepard shook his head, shifting his footing. They couldn't run or they'd be cut down by the recon drone's fire. But they couldn't stay put or they'd meet the same fate as Bellows and the marines. He adjusted his helmet, then looked up at the drone penning them in. Slowly, a plan began to form.

"Okay," he said, "I have an idea."

"Don't keep me hanging," Kaidan scowled, trying to pick off the agile recon drone. It floated and spun in the air, avoiding his fire.

"Do you think you have enough juice left in your biotic amp to lay down a barrier?"

"Maybe. Why?"

"If you can give me enough of an opening, I think I can try and send another grenade at that big drone."

Kaidan cursed as three energy bolts ricocheted off his shields. He too cover giving his shields time to recharge. "If you do that, that little son of a bitch will just intercept it again."

"Giving us a clear line of fire," Shepard pointed out.

Behind them, they could hear the bigger drone as it continued to charge up its grenade launcher. They didn't have much time.

"Okay," Kaidan said. "Then what?"

"Did you see that antenna on the big drone?"

"Yeah."

Shepard nodded. "Every mech we've come across has one of those things. I think it's something like an upload antenna. If we take that out, the mech will lose its connection to the server, like our mechs back on earth. It should shut down."

Kaidan seemed to debate this, then nodded and said, "Okay, I'm game. But we'd better do this fast. It's not going to be long before-"

Before he could finish, several blue-white orbs soared over their cover, landing in the grass behind them.

"Shit," Shepard cursed. "Go, go, go!"

Kaidan threw himself over the rock, throwing out his arm and projecting a shimmering skin-tight biotic field around himself and Shepard. His face was strained as he did this, as it obviously put pressure on his already-strained biotic amplifier.

"Go, Commander!" he shouted. The recon drone had opened fire at him and energy bolts were exploding repeatedly against the shimmering blue barrier. He wouldn't be able to hold up under such fire for long.

Shepard pulled another disc-shaped grenade, primed it, then sent it spinning toward the big drone. Just like before, the recon drone swooped in and slammed into it, disappearing in a bright explosion. Its flaming shrapnel rained down into the grass, charring the ground black.

With a gasp, Kaidan released the barrier and the flickering blue energy faded into the air. Shepard immediately raised his rifle and opened fire at the large drone, sighting in on the thick antenna on the drone's housing. He signaled for Kaidan to do the same.

The drone flinched as bullets kept hitting its signal antenna. Eventually the antenna burst into shards in a tiny eruption of fire and electrical discharge. Shepard dropped to a crouch, ready to move if their attack had no effect. Kaidan charged up another biotic field, just in case.

The drone's underslung cannon slowly stopped spinning. It seemed to wobble in mid-air for a moment, its photoreceptor light flickering erratically. It let out a low hum, then dropped heavily to the ground and didn't move again.

In a single moment, the entire clearing was still and silent. When he was sure the drone wasn't about to spring to life again, Shepard lowered his rifle and looked around for more potential contacts. Kaidan rested his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath after expending his biotic amp's power. When he was finally able to breathe easily again, he straightened and gasped, "So... nice plan."

Shepard nodded silently, scowling. He slowly stepped toward the remains of Bellows and his men. He sighed, then murmured, "Thanks for the support, Operations Chief."

Then he marked their location on his HUD like he had for the dead colonists the day before. If all went as planned, support crew from the Normandy could retrieve the bodies when the area was secure. He bowed his head for a few moments in respect. Kaidan approached as well and murmured, "Do... do you want to say something?"

Before Shepard could respond, they heard more gunfire from up the hill, in the direction of the beacon's excavation site. Kaidan's head snapped up and he drew his pistol.

Shepard sighed and shouldered his rifle again. "No rest for the wicked, I guess. Come on. Let's move."


A/N: I'm having a ton of fun writing this story and I hope you're all having a ton of fun reading it. More will come, quickly if I'm lucky.

Also, before you murder me for butchering canon, I know that Jenkins' experience on Eden Prime – and the storyline in general – is taking a hard left from the way the game unfolds. I'm just trying to add some life to the story. Just roll with it. ;)